In a recent case before the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands, in one of the first decisions of its kind, Walkers successfully obtained a Norwich Pharmacal order against a registered office service provider providing for the disclosure of documents to assist in the enforcement of a foreign arbitral award. This is an important decision for the jurisdiction, recognising the development and flexibility of the Norwich Pharmacal jurisdiction, not only in circumstances where the information sought is necessary to plead a claim but also where that information is necessary, post-judgment, in aid of enforcement
In granting the order, the Grand Court (Kawaley J) accepted that the fact of being the registered office provider was sufficient, without more, to establish that the corporate services provider was "mixed up" in the apparent wrongdoing for the purposes of Norwich Pharmacal and also, more importantly, that whilst simple non-payment of a judgment debt was not in itself sufficient to constitute "wrongdoing" so as to engage the jurisdiction, it was available in cases where there was evidence of deliberate evasion.
In adopting this approach the Grand Court has followed in the footsteps of the BVI courts, where, in one case, relief was granted against a corporate services provider in order to identify the ownership of certain vehicles that were suspected of being utilised as a means to conceal assets that might otherwise be available to satisfy an overseas judgment. Interestingly, there now appears to be an emerging divergence of approach between the English and Caribbean courts in relation to the availability of Norwich Pharmacal relief in support of overseas proceedings, the more liberal approach in the latter reflecting the primarily international nature of the business passing through those jurisdictions.
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